The Green Belt Movement Blog

Legendary folk singer Pete Seeger is calling for support of GBM’s long-term partnership with the Lambi Fund of Haiti. He is asking individuals around the world who are interested in the rebuilding and sustainable development of Haitian communities to contribute to GBM’s Haiti Fund.

These funds will benefit our unique Global South partnership in which members of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya and grassroots leaders supported by the Lambi Fund of Haiti support each other with indigenous wisdom, peer exchanges, and join collaborations to reforest their countries. These efforts will have a lasting impact in the sustainable rebuilding of Haiti in the aftermath of the January 12th earthquake.

We are truly grateful for Pete Seeger’s support!



Be sure to check back on our website soon for updates on GBM’s partnership in Haiti!

Donations to support GBM’s partnership with the Lambi Fund of Haiti are accepted online and by mail. Please send an email to gbmius@greenbeltmovement.org to let us know that your gift is for the Haiti Fund.

Thank you!

Maggie Baxter, one of the founding members of the Green Belt Movement International Europe board, received a wonderful New Year's gift: an OBE for her outstanding services to the voluntary sector. We are one of the very grateful recipients of Maggie's support and guidance.

Many many congratulations Maggie from all at the Green Belt Movement!

While I was in Kenya in November following our Annual Program Review meeting, colleagues and I visited Karura Forest just outside Nairobi. It was my first visit to Karura and, after reading about it in Prof’s autobiography Unbowed and seeing it in Taking Root, I was excited to finally venture in!

As we drove through the brush, it quickly became apparent how vast and vibrant the forest is. The diversity among the tree canopy was a myriad of green against the bright blue sky. As we “bumped” along the uneven forest floor in our vehicle and admired the forest’s beauty, we all dreamt aloud about the day when families will be able to enter the forest for a picnic and day of fun without fear for their safety. Unfortunately that day has not arrived yet, but there are many efforts to protect the forest and achieve just that.

Our first stop was at a site with two trees of special significance to GBM. The first was a tree planted in memory of a dear friend of Prof’s, and the second was planted by another good friend from the US during his visit to Kenya years ago. Every year I receive photos of these trees, but it was very special to stand beside them – and see how incredibly tall they have grown!

Next we visited the tree-planting site of a delegation during COP 12 exactly three years ago when the conference was held in Nairobi. Over 100 trees were planted here to commemorate the signing of the Emissions Reductions Purchasing Agreement (ERPA) between GBM and the World Bank. The high level delegation included the President of the Swiss Confederation, His Excellency Moritz Leuenberger, Ministers of the Environment, Members of Parliament, over 100 grassroots members of GBM, NGO representatives, and representatives from Kenya’s Forest Department. I remember reading about the tree-planting event as it took place in November 2006, so standing here now was like walking through history. The seedlings planted then are now 4-5 feet tall and flourishing - someday they will provide a beautiful canopy.

Our final stop in Karura was not far from COP 12’s site and is where several of our corporate partners have planted trees, including CitiGroup. We were pleased to see the young trees looking very green and doing well here, too. Their survival and strength are signs that the forest is healthy and supporting their growth.

But as we walked along this particular site in the forest, something was very odd...

Scattered around us were large blocks of cement and rubble, which clearly looked out-of-place a few kilometers into the forest! When I asked how it got it there and why, I was shocked to learn that it was leftover from the protest that Prof successfully led one decade ago against private developers of a large housing complex in Karura.

“So this was the actual site where construction began and Prof stood?”

“Yes, right here.”

There are no plaques or signs to identify this site, but it was from this spot that Prof saved Karura Forest.

If you have read the book or seen the documentary, then you understand the significance of the events that unfolded there (and if not then I recommend that you get a copy!)… Standing there was both magical and humbling; historic yet so alive. A sacred ecology exists in that forest that I hope is preserved forever for others to experience, too. Beyond the silence and the miles of trees that surrounded us, I imagined the chaos of the protests and the lives that were risked. If not for Prof’s vindication and bravery, the trees and their ecosystem would not be there. It reminds me of when she said, “I cannot survive without the trees, and nor can you.” How true it is. The battle she won a decade ago to preserve Karura Forest is already supporting new life and a new history of its own, which we must learn from and protect for years to come.

On the 17th of December, just before the final day of COP15 when our hopes were dashed, we had the unique opportunity to record (unplugged with our handheld recorder -thanks Elizabeth!) Wangari, Baaba Maal and Jon Snow (Channel 4, UK) talking about Africa, climate change, women and the challenges we face.

Enjoy this clip which includes a short song by Baaba Maal,

and hope you all have a joyful festive season. Next year there will be a lot of work for us all to do....

If you would like to hear more from GBM please join our enewsletter by entering your details on our homepage.

So COP 15 is officially over. Not many of us would have anticipated two weeks ago that it would end as it did, with a 12-paragraph agreement "noted" by the nearly 200 nations represented. Yesterday's negotiations continued into the night and then continued even further, into the early hours of the morning...and then some: only wrapping up mid-afternoon. Except for an hour or so at the very end, Prof. was there for the final session. Yes, through the night, into the day... today. She only left because if she hadn't, she risked missing her flight. Now she's on her way back to Kenya, drafting a statement on the outcome of COP 15 and what it means for Africa, for the world, for forests, for biodiversity, for governance... for all of us on the planet. Look for it.

I feel obliged to finish the blogging of the day and marathon two weeks that have been COP15. Two colleagues and I are finally watching the press conference which Obama held at the UNFCCC's COP15 this evening- not sure what happened to the official process in this.

Obama is calling this the first step, I am assuming he means for the US, and he was not willing to agree to any legally binding treaty. The UNFCCC as a process has been in existence since 1992 and Kyoto which many southern countries fought to keep was legally binding.

For an early reflection I guess what we have heard tonight is that Heads of State are now engaged, and wanting to address climate change, but the actions and the real change in their positions that we need to see to truly deal with this issue is a long way off.

This is not the Fair, Ambitious and Binding agreement we had worked so hard for, and we end the fortnight in Copenhagen with little concrete commitment. Green Belt Movement's work will continue as our strategy has always been to plant trees for the sake of the environment, people and the planet.

Goodnight.

As we hear REDD+ looks to be one of the surest areas of agreement coming out of these two weeks of negotiations at COP15, now is a good time to share an important message from our founder, Wangari Maathai on forests....

Unfortunately no real news from the Heads of States "informal" high level segment so far. There was nothing on a deal from President Obama's speech which we had all hoped, especially after the extensive delays this morning.

It seems they are still in a deadlock. Am waiting to see what the political analysts and those present in the room think about the current situation to shed more light. From here the divisions still appear to be over the Kyoto protocol and a legally binding treaty and targets, and North versus South commitments. The message I got from Obama was of commitment to their current targets (which are much lower than that other developed regions) and still an expectation that others needed to do more. No reference to historic responsibility which I would have liked to hear.

The only outcome that really matters is if Heads of States truly take what the science is telling us and agree to act to prevent catatrosphic climate change, that is preventing emissions to increase the global temperature to more than 1.5 degrees or under 350 ppm. Unfortunately I cannot see that happening now.

Update: latest reports from the news are more positive as apparently there are efforts to break the deadlock, and Tim Flannery is saying REDD+ deal is a good one for the environment and forests.

Sitting in my hotel room in Copenhagen, the view is white coated buildings and land with those four distinctive smoke pumping away. Brazil President Lula just spoke, "one of the wise men required to reach a powerful outcome of this conference" says Danish PM Stoltenkamp. Now President Obama, oh I hope he manages to make this a real deal... he says he has come here to act not talk...

Update soon on this soon..

Negotiations here in Copenhagen are at a critical stage. Prof. is in the Bella Center today following and conferring about the delegations’ deliberations (and headed to the BBC for a “climate debate” in the afternoon). Time is running out here for a deal—a strong, binding agreement. Some say that it won’t happen. Sure, something will come out of Copenhagen, they suggest. But it may be insufficient to address the realities and pressures of the climate crisis. However, these observer say, it will be sold as a success to the world. Some good news: it appears that REDD with financing will be part in the final agreement. However, all the details aren’t clear yet. Will it be REDD+? How much funding? How much monitoring? How much real equity? Those questions, and others, are in the balance here in snow-bound Copenhagen as the clock ticks on the climate summit.

It is day 11 of COP 15 and the clock is ticking. The Danish police have sealed of the Bella centre and a tiny number of the registered NGOs are now allowed in. With most of the officially registered observer NGOs shut out this, of course, raises serious issues about the transparency and openness of the process.

"The final negotiations will be tense and strenuous," said Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who is chairing the conference after Climate Minister Connie Hedegaard resigned from the role. World leaders are flying in and there is huge concern that the conference will collapse with little progress being made to bridge the differences between rich and poor nations.

The US has just attempted to win back some trust saying it was ready to support a $100bn (£62bn) fund to shield poor countries from the ravages of climate change Guardian. whether this is too little too late remains to be seen.

With negotiating teams and world leaders in a state of seeming disarray the role of civil society and business becomes even more crucial to achieve a stable climate. In the alternative forum a peoples declaration The Peoples Declaration will be signed tomorrow. This important document will help in some way to unify action in the face of a possible failure by governments to sign a treaty.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, perhaps the most unlikely climate spokesperson, says countries cannot solve the problem of climate change without the help of states, cities, regions, activists, scientists and universities. "The world's governments alone cannot make the progress that is needed on global climate change," COP15 - Copenhagen

Professor Wangari Maathai has just made a statement supporting her friend and ally HRH Prince Charles to motivate UK businesses to take action now on climate change by joining the Mayday Network The Prince's Mayday Network. It is clear to everyone here in Copenhagen that we must prepare to take action with or without government leadership.

“I am an optimist,” Prof. stated during the press conference after the ceremony at which UN Secretary General Ban Kid-moon designated her a UN Messenger of Peace (one of 12 such individuals). “So,” she continued, addressing those in the room—delegates and NGOs—“keep working hard” toward an agreement here at the Copenhagen climate talks. Prof.’s the first African appointed to the post (others include actor George Clooney and author Paolo Coelho) and will have a special ambit: the environment and climate change.

Heads of state, she reminded the audience at the ceremony at the Bella Center, wouldn’t be coming to Copenhagen “for a peace of cake,” but only for something serious: a binding agreement and sufficient resources, which Prof. called for. (There’s word today that a deal on REDD may be done and, in fact, may be one of the most significant outcomes of the climate summit.)

Prof. also had a special word for the activists attending the summit, or trying to. As she noted, she’s gone from activist to government and back to activist again. “Thank God for the activists,” she said. “They hold the politicians accountable…[here] they are even being arrested, for something serious. I’m so proud of the activists,’ Prof. continued. The politicians ought to take a message from them that “their people want them to act.”

Later, Prof. delivered one of the keynote addresses at the opening of the high-level segment of negotiations here. She stressed the role of forests in mitigating climate change, and in the lives of billions of peoples and other species; she urged the north and south to overcome their history (including of mistrust) and work together; she stressed the importance of values, of compassion and empathy, in the climate debate. And she reminded the audience, in a light touch, that she’s been attending UN conferences since 1976—what Prof. called “ancient times.” No one leaves a conference like this, Prof. told the delegates, with the perfect document. What’s needed from Copenhagen is a legally binding deal. The governments will do it, she said.

As I listened, I believed her. No doubt. I didn’t have a pass to get into the room for the high-level segment, but in a way, it was more fun to watch the speech on a monitor in the hall, clustered with many others. We strained to listen over the din of dishes clattering and cell phone chattering. Prof. was heard. Now…we’re ready to listen to what the heads of states will say.

During this holiday season, we invite you to make a donation in honor of friends or family that will benefit the Green Belt Movement’s programs in Kenya. Your generosity will help us provide hope of a greener and more sustainable future for communities across Kenya for generations to come.

Since 1977, the Green Belt Movement has planted more than 45 million trees in Kenya while supporting communities to understand the critical link between the state of their immediate environment, poverty, and peace. Thanks to supporters like you, the Green Belt Movement continues to expand and inspire communities in Kenya and beyond.

From our entire team at the Green Belt Movement, we thank you for your support and wish you a very Happy Holiday!

__________
Our US and Europe Offices have several special options for holiday gift giving including personalized acknowledgment letters and certificates. For more information regarding holiday gifts, please contact either our US office by phone at +1 (202) 457-8080 or by email at gbmius@greenbeltmovement.org or our Europe Office by phone at +44(0) 2075490395 or by email at gbmi@greenbeltmovement.org

The many faces of COP 15 are more apparent than ever as the second week begins in Copenhagen. On Saturday the largest ever climate march rocked the city tcktcktck. The protest was largely peaceful with organizers heralding it as a great success grist. There were the usual skirmishes with police from a tiny minority of trouble makers. Police responded with the controversial tactics of mass arrests. In total the police rounded up 968 in a ‘preventive action’ over the weekend with nearly all released within 24 hours COP15-Copenhagen.

Poor nations are still extremely unhappy with the ways things are going and walked out on Monday Guardian. The Africa group of countries followed by other developing countries accused the chair of the conference of trying to "kill" the Kyoto protocol Guardian. As it currently stands a summary of the developing country wishes are:

MITIGATION
- at least 45% emission cuts by developed countries on 1990 levels by 2020 if developing countries are to survive
- climate analytics put the total cuts promised by developed countries at a dismal 8-12% on 1990 levels
- developed countries must raise their targets, close the loophole such as non performing LULUCF, agree on a 1990 base year and five-year commitment periods, and impose an early scientific review

ADAPTATION
- Commit at least US$50 billion annually for adaptation in developing countries, in the next commitment period, increasing to USD100 billion by 2020
- delivery of the funds must be measured, reported and verified
- the funds must be additional to development and commitments

FINANCE
- the finance must come as part of a long term, legally binding agreement to reach a figure of USD195 billion per year by 2020
- additional to ODA
- Funding should flow through a consolidated fund under the authority of and fully accountable to the COP (UNFCCC)

LEGAL MATTERS
- have a full agreement on substance and legally binding deal

The main world leaders are all now flying in so let us all hope that they bring with them the desire to find a way through the complicated difficulties that lie ahead. The after a tough few days maybe good COP will make an appearence again.

It's not every day you see a prince at a climate change conference, but today around noon at the Marriott Copenhagen, there was Prince Albert II of Monaco, soft-spoken, seemingly self-effacing, American-accented, and greeting Prof. at the beginning of a side event (COP 15 speak for a panel or gathering around an issue) on the Congo Basin Forest Fund. (He's not the only prince Prof. will discuss the climate and forest protection with; Prince Charles, a staunch defender of tropical forests, speaks before Prof. tomorrow at the opening of the "high level" (COP 15 for senior government officials, or even heads of state). They'll hold a press conference together afterward.

Today's discussion, which, in addition to a prince, included many senior government officials (the vice president of Burundi, e.g..) and key staff of a range of international agencies and governments (the minister of environment and international development of Norway, the head of the African Development Bank to name only two). The discussion ranged over the benefits of and need for the Congo Basin Forest Fund, the comparative advantages it brings to its work, the challenges facing the Congo forests (agricultural expansion, warming temperatures, shrinking rainfall, illegal and legal logging) and also the opportunities.

Forests are now pretty much on the international climate agenda. It's unlikely that governments will leave Copenhagen without a climate deal including REDD or even REDD+, UN speak for reducing emissions from forest destruction and degradation...with the plus adding afforestation efforts, like those of the Green Belt Movement. "I hope after Copenhagen," Prof. said, the wallets will open. The general consenus within the conference and for the millions following the conference on the Internet, is that REDD is one of the immediate ways we can start doing something for our climate. We have to make REDD a way of life….”

A quick recap: the Congo Basin forests hold anywhere from 25 to 50 million tons of carbon and 80% of the species in the Congo forests aren't found anywhere else. It's the second largest intact expanse of forest in the world (the Amazon is first). At the conclusion of the discussion, Prof. made an appeal, not only for funds, but for accountability and transparency among those in the room and their fellow Africans and "African sympathizers."

We know we have the political will, Prof. said, and we know we have friends who also want to save the Congo forest. What we need are "transparency and honesty, and success stories on the ground," she continued. "Otherwise, we won't go anywhere." Her final statement was crystal clear about the opportunities and challenges ahead for the forest and the Fund: "Money is not the problem. It's the performance on the ground. That should challenge us" to do what's needed to get it right.

“Livelihoods, Forests, Livestock and Climate Change,” GBM’s “side event” (or panel) at COP 15, held with Brighter Green, and the participation of theNobel Women’s Initiative, was packed—literally. There must have been more than 200 people filling the rows of seats, standing in the aisles, sitting on the floor and a number of cameras (video and still) occupied the front seats, trained, mostly, on Prof, who introduced the session and moderated. The Green Belt Movement, she said, wanted to share its experience of reforestation and afforestation at the community level, and in the context of the growing clamor over carbon finance (a loud debate on both sides is taking place here in Copenhagen). The discussion was very good, ranging over forest protection, reafforestation, the challenges of community-based carbon finance, and the role of livestock in climate change...and climate change's role in challenging the livelihoods of pastoral communities.

GBM’s Carbon Finance Officer, Frederick Njau, provided an overview of the lessons GBM has learned about reafforestation efforts in the Aberdares and Mt. Kenya ecosystems. Along with some arresting images—graphic maps of the forest cover and photos—Njau offered some cautions: carbon projects have high preparation, implementation and monitoring costs; that it’s difficult to prove “additionality” (that is, would this project have taken place without the carbon financing?); people’s use of the forests, for example, for agriculture and livestock grazing, can undermine the very carbon capture that’s being funded. Communities also have high expectations for these projects, and many capacity needs, most of which still go unmet.

Mia MacDonald, Brighter Green’s Executive Director, gave the big picture of the livestock-climate connection and the role of the intensification of animal agriculture poses in land use changes, deforestation, desertification, risks to food security and the seemingly inexorable growth in GHGs. Sixty billion farm animals are raised and consumed as food each year; by 2050, if current trajectories persist, that number will be an astonishing 120 billion. At the same time, it’s small-scale pastoralists and farmers whose livelihoods are disappearing as the effects of global warming are increasingly felt. This issue, she concluded needs to be fully on the climate agenda—where it isn’t right now—as well as other critical global agendas (development, economics, public health, ethics).

Then Samwel Naikada of Transmara, Kenya, gave a rich small-scale picture of what drought, desertification and overstocking of animals mean to his community, and the ways it's responding. (Bee-keeping has taken off, as has development of a market for women's beadwork; community members are offering nature walks and working to develop ecotourism around a standing indigenous forest. In describing efforts for forest protection, he commented: "Prevention is better than the cure."

Communities like his lack information on climate change, even as they feel its effects. This extends to the livestock-climate connection. When he first heard, very recently, that cows are significant emitters of GHGs, Samwel said his reaction and that of others, could be described as: no, why, really, how? Yet they'd seen the grass disappear and cows, goats and sheep die from drought. They'd seen milk production levels decline. They'd seen, too, wildlife exhibiting behaviors never seen before: baboons leaving the forest for grasslands and preying on young goats and sheep, due to lack of other food; zebras and gazelles grazing in the forest, unable to find other forage. To community elders, the world has turned upside down. The most common phrase he hears, Samwel says, when people talk about their environment today is this: "It used to be."

And so it was: a well-spent 90 minutes…and just one of many events on the schedule that day. Scroll down here for an article on the side event in the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (which is tracking the conference session by session), and a photo. Not long after, Prof., Njau and GBM’s Peter Ndunda were seen hunched over laptops in a conference center lounge drafting a statement about the climate conference’s proceedings so far. Forests, justice, REDD+ and Congo Basin. Much more to come from Copenhagen.

In Copenhagen temperatures are dropping outside as the discussions and international presence heat up inside.

This week more than 110 Heads of State arrive from around the world, and the Bella centre - that has hosted many activities - will be closed to many of the NGO delegates apparently due to overcrowding.

The diversity and range of activities going on inside the Bella centre and in Copenhagen at large has been mind boggling! From the official negotiations to NGO side events to parrallel events like Klimaforum. The city has been transformed with climate change installations including a frozen polar bear, giant globes and photographic exhibitions. It would be impossible to even list them all here but there is no end to the diverse creative and interesting ways we are being engaged on this issue.

GBM's highlights so far have included two side events that we hosted. The second one was an official side event with partners including Brighter Green. Both events have had great turn-outs with too many attendees to fit into the venues.

At the first event: the IseeT kiosk hosted by the UNFCCC, Professor Maathai and GBM's GIS specialist, Peter Ndunda, spoke about how to do effective monitoring and evaluation of community tree planting projects using appropriate mapping and remote sensing technology.

The second event was on "Livelihoods, forests and climate" - more on this will follow soon.

Got to run as am blogging while in a session on Adaptation during Forest Day 3. Great presentations here so far- Protect the standing indigenous trees!

"2009 is possibly the most important year for forests in living memory. We are in the final stretch of the road to Copenhagen, and COP 15, where negotiators expect to finalise a post-Kyoto global climate agreement in December."

Last word has to go to the tremendous contribution that our founder, Wangari Maathai, has been making at numerous events speaking on behalf of GBM, civil society in Africa, and the world, including for those who cannot - the trees and other species. This is a forum that can really learn and listen to lessons learnt at GBM over the last 30 years. Its been a huge privilege to be able to be here as a part of the team supporting her.

Copenhagen
12-8-09

Guest blogger Elizabeth Baker is vice president of the Resource Renewal Institute and a delegate to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference with the Green Belt Movement.

One of the great transition points in modern history has Copenhagen cracking with excitement. President Obama is coming with other world leaders to COP15 and is armed with an exciting new potential power that can free him to act independently of the Senate opponents. Late Tuesday evening, Center for Biological Diversity attorney Kassie Siegel delivered a crisp assessment of the legal precedent for the President to use his executive authority to cap greenhouse gasses without congressional ratification.

Following the US Environmental Protection Agency announcement of a final ruling that greenhouse gasses are harmful to human health, days before receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, and a week ahead of his landmark participation in COP15, President Obama’s hands were untied.

With her analysis of legal precedent dating to the 1987 Global Climate Protection Act, Ms. Siegel methodically outlined how President Obama could legally circumvent the two-thirds majority in Congress required to ratify a new piece of legislation.

The Clean Air Act authorizes and requires the Environmental Protection Agency to act on harmful greenhouse gas emissions from sources as diverse as cars and large power plants. With this sound legal justification, President Obama could cap harmful greenhouse gasses at a level of his choosing through the use of an executive agreement. Such agreements have been the birth of nearly all international agreements including, notably, NAFTA.

“The choice would only be political, ” said Ms. Siegel. “He has full legal authority to make a deal here in Copenhagen. When presidents have the political will to get things done, they don’t wait for the Senate.”

The concurrent release of ‘Yes, He Can’ by Greenpeace is bound to fuel increasing displeasure among environmentalist who are still waiting for President Obama to deliver on his climate change campaign promises. With a heretofore-unknown avenue of action available to the President, bitter climate change realities mix with cautious optimism. This more direct route may have punishing political consequences in the US but as the new Nobel Peace Laureate, President Obama’s leadership will have an even greater arena in which to triumph.

With so many nations waiting to act until the US expresses its carbon reduction targets, knowing Mr. Obama’s hands are not legally tied may catalyze more intense negotiations. As it is, things in the Bella center won’t get into high gear until next week, when the heads of state arrive to decide what the world needs to prevent catastrophic climate change.

Like the northern winter sky as seen through the Bella Center’s glass ceiling, a bright moment exists in which to act, but it is very, very short.

Guest blogger Anna Collins, of the UK Youth Coalition on Climate Change, has been following the climate change talks throughout the year since the last COP meeting in Poznan. As we enter the last ten days before Copenhagen, Anna has some thoughts about forests and the current status of the negotiations.

When you think of a tree, draw a tree you probably colour it green. Green is the colour of trees…right?

Well actually you’re wrong…

At the UNFCCC red is the colour of trees.

Well to put it more precisely REDD is the colour of trees.

REDD stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation and that’s the part of the negotiations that refers to trees (or to be more precise, forests). Almost 20% of our current emissions come from deforestation and degradation, mostly in the developing world, and so addressing this is vital to fighting climate change. That’s what REDD was designed to do. To create a mechanism that protects forests stops deforestation and keeps natural forests in tact.

But we seem to have a problem! Because as we head towards Copenhagen that is not what we are seeing in the REDD negotiations.

As it currently stands REDD may increase emissions not reduce them!
Language has sneaked into the text that allows beautiful and amazing natural forests to be chopped down and replaced with plantations, all in the name of soaking up carbon!

In Bangkok this reached a head with the EU negotiators leading the drive to take out the language that safeguards against this. Though since then we have seen the EU retract that move, the language to protect against this is still in a bracket. Which means there’s still a high likelihood it may be scrapped in Copenhagen!
What kind of agreement are we looking at in Copenhagen if things like this are not secured?

The REDD text also fails to address what actually drives deforestation and which trample all over indigenous peoples rights!

Indigenous people have been the guardians of the forests for thousands of years, you cannot, just because we have realised forests are vital to fighting climate change, ignore their rights. REDD cannot and must not go ahead without indigenous rights being secured.

As we hurtle towards Copenhagen the number of problem areas and issues with what we are likely to see in any deal rises.

There is a very real possibility of deals being done in Copenhagen that make things worse and not better.

A deal that allows our amazing, and beautiful natural forests to be chopped down, a deal that robs indigenous people of the forests they have depended on and protected for thousands of years, this is not a deal we should accept.

REDD stands as just one example of how we could end up with green wash or a dirty deal.

As talk hots up, as high-level debates continue over the form and outcomes of Copenhagen, we cannot forget what’s at the very heart of any sort of deal.

Getting the deal in Copenhagen may be about politics not policy now.

But the outcomes of any deal should not be about politics or money…they should be about our beautiful planet and its amazing people.

When Japan’s Musicians Without Borders (MWB) came to Kenya this week, they could not resist planting a tree with Prof and the Green Belt Movement. The occasion was very symbolic of the global outreach of the Mottainai campaign in Japan, which has shown such great appreciation for Prof since it began in 2006.

MWB is a non-profit organization which helps to link peoples hearts through music. Music, they say, has a wonderful power to heal people’s hearts. The musical group formed in Japan in 2005 and now has 4 main activity areas - charity concerts, an annual peace concert, donations of used musical instruments, and a storehouse that sells used musical instruments. All of this was music to our ears! Re-use, reduce, recycle... here was a group that is ensuring the re-use of precious musical instruments. And it’s all in the spirit of Mottainai.

When Prof arrived on Sunday afternoon to the Kenya Children’s Home where the tree-planting ceremony took place, she was welcomed by the children singing. Two trees were planted – the first one with Prof and the second with MWB’s lead singer Mayo Shono. It was when Prof sat down for a meeting with MWB that she learned how they associate their reusing of musical instruments to the Mottainai Campaign! A total of 210 instruments were donated to three children’s homes in Kenya this week and included drums, guitars, recorders, castonets, bells and more. All of the musical instruments have been used before – and have found new homes here in Kenya. Through the efforts of MWB and others like it, the Mottainai campaign continues to touch so many.

After a lovely day with the children and musicians of MWB, we got up to leave – but so moved was one of the musicians that she came up to Prof and urged her to sing along to Amazing Grace. Of course, we all joined in! How could we not. Here we were celebrating Mottainai with our new friends of Musicians Without Borders.